St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-03-03


event of rejection of the nomination, will
expire on the fourth day of March, and the
Office would then be left without head.
THE SENATE.
After Some Preliminaries 1t Takes
up the Naval Appropriation Bill.
WASHINGTON, March 2.-The literature
regarding the surrender of Geronimo to
Gen. Miles, was received from the secretary
of war. Bills reported favorably and placed
on the calendar were: To create a naval
reserve OF auxiliary cruisers, officers and
men from the mercantile marine; author
izing Winona, Mimi, to construct a bridge
across part Of the Mississippi river to an
island therein. Mr.. Aldrich. from the
committee on finance, reported a resolution
authorizing that committee to continue dur
ing the recess the investigation into the un-
LIBERALIZATION OF imported merchandise,
Adopted. The resolution offered yesterday
by Mr.. Hoar, authorizing the committee on
privileges and elections to continue during
the recess the Texas investigation, was
adopted. Mr.. Platt, from the committee
ON territories, reported the senate bill to
validate and cure defects i'll certain acts Of
the legislature of Washington territory.
Passed. The senate then proceeded to its
consideration of the
NAVAL AUTHORIZATION BILL.
An amendment was inserted in the item
for the bureau of steam engineering prOvid-
ing that no part of the appropriation shall be
applied to the repair of the engines and ma
chinely of wooden ships where the estimated
cost of repairs shall exceed 20 per cent. of
the cost Of new engines and machinery of
the same character and power under the
head OF Increase OF the Navy" The conf
mlttee recommends striking out the house
provision for two swift double-b Ottomed
steel cruisers and for four gunboats. all to
cost, exclusive of armament, not more than
81, $50, 600, and the Substitution of two
new sections providing for six protected
steel cruisers with speed of not less than
twenty knots, to cost. exclusive Of arma
ment not more than 50. 600. 600, and appro-
priating that amount; also approprating
for the armament of such vessels SO, $50, :
600; also appropriating 100000 for
heavily-amored vessels OF floating bat
teres or rams for coast and har-
Dor defenses; also appropriating $720. 900
for light draught gunboats: also appr0prfe
atipg $500, 600 for torpedo boats and $780,
600 for torpedoes, aid 81, 800, 600 for the
VI ttlUSC NCSSClSs MI. xSJldN
questioned the policy of the provision re-
curing one of the six steel cruisers to- be
built on or near the coast of the Pacitic
ocean and two Of them Oh or near the coast
of the Gulf of Mexico. This was only
trammelling the secretary of the navy and
interfering with the general objects pro-
posed. He was in favor of the accomplish
ment of what the section proposed, namely,
the creation Of six swift. available and eff
icient cruisers. and therefore he moved to
strike out that provision. MIR. Hale (who
has charge Of the bilD stated that when the
ten cruisers bill was up some weeks ago a
similar provision had been adopted after
full discussion, on the motion Of the sen
ator from Alabama (NIr. Morgan.) He had
believed then. and believes now, that one
or two of these vessels could be built, and
DE BUILT SPEEDILY,
on the Pacific coast. The committee on
appropriations had embodied those features
in this amendment, taking q proportionate
number las the whole number had been cut
DOWN and, instead of giving two to the
Pacific coast. had given one, and. instead
OF giving three to the Gulf of Mexico, had
givin two. leaving three to the Atlantic
coast. Mr.. Gray modified his motion so as
to make the clause read that if it shall ap-
pear to the president that vessels cannot be
constructed at fair price on the Pacific or
Gulf coasts he ''may consider and accept
bids for building said vessels at other
places" INSTEAD of suspending their coll
Struction until the further action Of con-
gress). Mr.. Maxey said that there should
be at least one great navy yard constructed
on the gulf coast where the best iron, steel,
live oak and long leaved pine were at hand.
ha than lob r.,
Gray's amendment as unadopted and it was
rejected. Mr. Plumb moved to strike out
the item of $6,000,00O for heavily
armored vessels, or batteries or rams for
coast defenses. He argued that it was not
possible to make armored vessels that would
keep up lin power of resiStance) with the
increase in the power of projectiles; in
other words, that the power of Offense was
greater than the power of defense. He
was quite sure that if the bill were to
be accompanied with a provision for a tax
to pay the expenditure, the expenditure
would not be made. 1t was to some extent
the concomtant Of large surplus in the
treasury. He was not in favor of putting
the screw upon the house of representatives
now talked of as disorganized mob which
had no conviction on this or on any other
subject, and whose only idea was to avoid
| an extra session of congress. 1t was cruel
to impose this provision upon them and to
put them under
A CERTAIN CONFUSION
to take it, under the penalty of an extra
session if they refused it. He was opposed
to taking advantage of the PROSTATE condi-
ton of the house of representatives, not
half of whose members had been elected to
the next congress, and nearly all of whom
were desirous to get out of Washington al
the earliest possible moment, without any
regard to the public interests, which public
| interests they had wholly neglected during
York chamber of commerce as being
brought into this agitation as tender to
private speculation. AS evidence of this he
called attention to the fact that every mem.
Der of congress had received a circular
calling on congress to provide means
for coast defense. The only vitality
which that body had was such
as was communicated to it by
some persons who desired to speculate on
its responsibility. The great body of the
American people was not disturbed by all
the efforts to convince them of the dangers
menacing their peace. They were as placid
as pan of milk. They were going about
their ordinary avocatlons without any fear
of war at home or abroad, and while they
were DESTROYS that reasonable measures
| should be adopted for national defense. they
did not look upon this time as QUE of emer-
gency or one in which anything unusual
should be done. They would be much
better pleased if congress would take the
tariff duty off lumber and salt and (meas-
urably) off sugar and other necessaries OF
life. Referring to the failure of the con-
erence on
THE FoRTIFICAToIN RT1J.